I am still not quite grasping things. Here is a sample testing procedure to illustrate my confusion.
1.) Store leaves in a controlled humid environment like a cigar humidor.
2.) Weigh the leaf sample,
3.) Create initial scan spectrum record (Before Rec) and write it to the DB.
4.) Using a low and tightly controlled temperature +- 1 deg airflow dehydrate the leaf for 5 min. Herbal vaporizers have this kind of control.
5.) Immediately scan the leaf after the test time expires (creating the After DB record for same test ) recording its temperature as well as the dehydrator air temperature
6.) Weigh the leaf to calculate the weight loss.
You have two spectrum scans (before/after) that theoretically can tell you the water content loss. So presumably the first scan has the starting content. But thats the real question to begin with, not the change. The leaf could be soaked in water for 24 hrs before the test to give a consistent starting point but it doesn’t get me any further to answering the question.
My question still remains about the math.. The before and after scans would need to be compared. I think I can do this in Excel by downloading the raw data and pairing up the before and after shots, but Im still looking at a change in water content, not the initial starting point.
My brain is now mush trying to visualize this problem.